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Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Potato and mackerel gratin

This is so yummy! If you eat fish but
not meat then leave out the bacon and add a little salt.

This serves about 5-6 people and is
great for making in advance. You can even make it and freeze it for
an easy ready meal. If you're a family of 2-3 then make this amount
but use two smaller dishes and freeze one. It's also very nice cold
the next day with a salad.

Ingredients

5 medium potatoes or 4 really big ones

2 onions

Pack of bacon

Pack of smoked mackerel

Black pepper

300ml single cream

about 700ml milk, depends on the dish
you use though

A bit of cheese for the top

Method

Slice the onion into half moons and
start to soften in a little oil. Chop the bacon into pieces and add
to the onions. Once the onions and bacon are nicely soft and starting
to colour, chop or break up the mackerel and add it to the pan and
mix it all up to warm through. Season with black pepper.

Meanwhile, while the onions and bacon
are cooking peel the potatoes. If you have a food processor, then
great, slice them in that bad boy and enjoy the benefits of the
electrical age. If not then I'm afraid you have to slice thinly with
a knife (hopefully you have stainless steel and not flint???).

In a decent sized oven dish, grease the
bottom with a little oil or piece of butter wrapper (because like me
you keep a stash of old butter wrappers in your fridge door for
moments like this). Put a layer of potatoes then sprinkle over a
layer of the onion-bacon-mackerel mix. Then a layer of potatoes and
so on until the dish is full, finish on a layer of potatoes.

In a jug mix 300ml of cream with about
500ml of milk. Pour over the potatoes. That'll leave you about 200ml
milk extra from the above ingredients list – depending on the shape and depth of your dish and the size of your spuds add some more milk
if needed. You basically want to be able to just see it coming up the
sides of the dish but not right up to the top of the potatoes. (Don't
be disheartened if the first time you make it it's too dry or too
runny, it'll still taste great and just make a mental note for next
time about if you need more or less milk).

Grate a little cheese on top, cover
with tin foil and stick it in a medium-hot oven, about 180 deg.

After 45 mins remove the foil and leave
in for another 30mins – 45mins, to check if it's ready stick a
knife in the middle and there shouldn't be any “resistance” from
the spuds. Leave to settle and solidify for a few mins before
serving.

We tend to serve with pan fried
cabbage... possible my favourite veg at the moment. Broccoli or
anything green is good with it really.

Don't forget, if you like this recipe and use it a small donation to PSS via my BTMyDonate page is greatly appreciated – Thanks :)